The journey of making dreams come true

On August 20th, 2013, I stepped out the door for the first training run in which I would attempt to qualify for the Boston Marathon.

I had 5 marathons worth of experience, but the thought of shaving another 8+ minutes off my personal best was quite daunting. Some 400+ miles tough training miles later, I found myself on the starting line of the Rehoboth Beach Marathon on December 7th in cringing cold conditions. I gave it everything I had and somehow managed to negative split the race despite my Garmin dying mid-race. My race mantra was you have to want it.

Coming into the finish chute was one of the most electrifying and proud moments of my life.

Dreams do come true, y'all.

I relished in my accomplishment and it fed a new addiction of finding new challenges. I spent 2014 entering multi-race weekend challenges, tackling new distances, qualifying for the Marathon Maniacs, running in tutus, and discovering that the more I ran, the more I wanted to keep running.

I submitted my qualifying time to the BAA in September and waited an excruciatingly long time to receive the acceptance email. I was headed to Boston in April 2015! 

My last race of 2014 was wonderfully fun, but I found myself benched for a few weeks afterwards with niggling Achilles pain. The break was good for me though. I came back with a need for vengeance and on January 1st, I began a running streak and training for Boston all in one.

I streaked for 35 days, ran a trail marathon in late February, and tackled 208.4 miles in March. I ran on trails, on the Greenway, on sidewalks, and in parking lots. I ran in the rain, dark, cold, outside, inside, morning, noon, and night. And as the miles ticked off, I slowly got into the best running shape of my life.

The stats don't lie.

Now I find myself inching towards 600 miles in this training cycle for Boston with the same fears as I do for every race. Alberto Salazar is quoted as saying I had as many doubts as anyone else. Standing on the starting line, we're all cowards. I find comfort in this fear. The confidence I have in my training is brimming, but I know the other 30,000 runners will be dancing with the same devil on the morning of April 20th.

I've studied the course, read books, gathered tips from alumni, and tried to soak in all the information I can get my hands on. Partially to navigate the logistics of this huge production, but partially because I hope to cross the finish line with a shiny new PR.

But I promise to never be unhappy, unappreciative, or disappointed regardless of the outcome on April 20th. To be part of the experience is more than I can ask for in the first place. I will soak in every step and savor all the moments--good or bad. After 20 months of preparation#17024 is ready.